India's first pilot; established Air India International as India's first international airline, recipient of Bharat Ratna which is India's highest civilian award in 1992. There are many personas of this one personality. JRD Tata is the pioneer who was driven the spirit of the indian skies.
In 1930, the Aga Khan Trophy was offered for the first Indian to fly solo from India to England or vice versa. J.R.D. competed, taking off from Karachi to London. When he landed at Aboukir Bay in Egyp
Flying was always a passion with JRD. He was the first person to qualify within India to fly. He got his license on 10 Feb 1929. As an aviator and pioneer flier, he was the first one who introduced commercial aviation to India. JRD went on to establish Air-India International in 1946 and became the president of Inter-national Air Transport Association (IATA).
He founded India's first commercial airline, 'Tata Airlines', in 1932, which in 1946 became Air India, now India's national airline.
Copyright (c) Chintan Handa (M00187934 ,ch694@mdx.ac.uk)
Last Updated: 11/2/09
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